1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cogeneration, meaning involvement in the use of the normally spent gases or waste heat emanating from its source: first, reactivating the secondary combustion gas content, for achieving a more complete burning of the unburned hydrocarbons such as carbon monoxide (CO), to carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) of the exhaust emission by feeding fresh air charges into the exhaust flame stream so as to increase energy potential for auxiliary power driving purposes; second, exploiting the so-increased energy derived from the improved secondary combustion resulting from the fresh air propagated and supported intensified secondary combustion and resulting increase in gas volume and velocity magnitudes by which to drive an air-cooled air-charging turbo type power-generating rotor and its extended hollow air-cooled supporting shaft and additional auxiliary accessory apparatus linked thereto, and third, propelling a carbureted air-fuel vapor mixture for delivering a conditioned engine intake flow under increased and above atmospheric pressures.
It teaches improvements in the design and construction of engine exhaust turbines for extracting the maximum amount of energy, wasted in conventional practice, from the flaming gas exhaust as discharged during a normal engine work-load-speed operation.
It exploits the energies emanating through the exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine while altering the content of the gases so as to contribute to the reduction of air pollution while simultaneously improving engine efficiency.
Auxiliary fresh air and other oxidizing gases are blended with the exhaust gases whereby the carbon monoxide content is significantly reduced within the exhausted fumes while the carbon dioxide content thereof is appreciably maximized.
The invention teaches new and novel improvements and innovations, not heretofore disclosed, same exemplifying additional embodiments for obtaining maximum energy extraction and other operational benefits with respect to improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Efforts on the part of major automobile manufacturers to reduce pollutants in the exhaust gases of conventional gasoline piston engines for use in motor vehicles are well known and consist primarily in investigating or developing a system or combination of systems such as the use of a thermal reactor, catalytic converter, nitrogen oxide catalytic converter, exhaust gas recirculation, air injection, etc. Since catalytic converters are vulnerable to leaded fuels, and for other reasons, the use of thermal reactors to reduce exhaust emissions has been considered promising.
With the exception of equipment using engine exhaust to propel air-fuel intake mixtures by exhaust-driven turbo type superchargers, and using heat extracted for use similar to that used in the Pogue and other type carburetors and devices, no method or means is known to exist for the amplification of, or otherwise the increase of, the energy content of the engine exhaust emissions as to be made useful and applicable for auxiliary power driving purposes for improving overall engine efficiency.
No practical means is known for economically improving the quality of the exhaust emissions regardless of the fuel used by the feeding into the exhaust emission additional oxidizing agents such as air and/or oxygen, by which to increase the potential energies of those emissions for power-take-off purposes and for use in generating engine intake fuel gases, such as hydrogen and oxygen, to increase engine efficiency and simultaneously reduce pollution.
In most conventional types of liquid fuel fed internal combustion engines, there exists little or no possibility of obtaining complete combustion within the cylinder confines. The liquid fuel is seldom sufficiently fully gasified or the usual carbureted liquid vapor part of the air-liquid vapor mixture is seldom sufficiently fully gasified so as to be completely ignitable within the engine.
I am aware of a patent to G. S. Mittelstaedt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,097 of Mar. 28, 1967, showing the use of apparatus for producing hydrogen and oxygen gases for use in the intake, combustion and exhaust zones of an internal combustion engine.